Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Revenue is now planning how to build on these activities in 2006. I am informed that the construction industry will form a major part of Revenue's compliance and audit work in 2006.

In recent years, 12 instances of relevant contract tax fraud were investigated by Revenue. Because of the particular circumstances of two instances, it was considered appropriate to refer these to the Garda for further investigation. One alleged fraud identified collusion among 97 persons, including nine principal contractors. A Garda inquiry is ongoing into this abuse and also the abuse of C2 certificates. The second fraud involved 24 identified persons and companies, including eight principals. Garda inquiries are ongoing.

The remaining ten cases where serious suspected abuse of the relevant contract tax system was identified were referred for investigation by Revenue's investigation and prosecutions division with a view to prosecution. To date, one of these cases has resulted in a court conviction and the defendant was sentenced to 240 hours of community service. In two other cases, the defendants failed to appear in court and bench warrants were issued for their arrest. The remaining seven cases are under active investigation by Revenue's investigation and prosecutions division.

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